Welcome to the fifth installment of my Echoing Flames AU! As always, I don't own Warriors, even though I should.

Fireheart stared in disbelief and anger at the dark brown tabby that towered over his counterparts on top of the Great Rock, gazing down at the throng of cats beneath him. Somehow, Tigerclaw, the cat who had tried to murder his mother and mentor, was now standing over all the Clans as the new leader of ShadowClan.

"Tigerclaw!" he spat under his breath. How had this happened? How was it possible that a traitor had received the gift of nine lives from StarClan? More importantly, why had ShadowClan accepted him as their leader in the first place?

The murmurs and hisses of displeasure around him told Fireheart that his sentiments were shared by just about every other warrior present at the Gathering. He glanced around at the surrounding cats. Most of them looked horrified and disgusted, but there were a few expressions that seemed either mildly neutral or, in Darkstripe's case, outright smug. Tigerclaw's–no, Tigerstar's–closest ally had chosen to follow him when the former ThunderClan warrior was exiled, and he had been rewarded in the greatest way possible by being chosen to take on the role of the new ShadowClan leader's second-in-command.

"What does he think he's doing up there?" Fireheart heard Onewhisker of WindClan hiss.

"Tigerclaw is the new leader of ShadowClan?" Mudclaw exclaimed. "But he's a traitor! He can't be a leader!"

"Believe it or not, it's true," Darkstripe sneered, still with the same cold, smug expression on his face. "Tigerstar has received the blessing of StarClan, and you must bow to him as the newest leader among the Clans."

"No one asked to hear your opinion," Fireheart snapped at his former Clanmate. "Tigerstar might not be qualified to be a leader, but you are even less qualified to be his deputy–or anyone else's, for that matter. You're nothing more than a talentless, spineless, pathetic, sycophantic, egomaniacal imbecile."

Bluestar stepped forward and turned to address Tigerstar. She didn't give the call to start the Gathering–there was no need. Everyone's attention was already fixated on the Great Rock, and the whispers died down as soon as she moved forward. Fireheart took a seat a few paces away, looking up at his mother as she gazed at Tigerstar with eyes like flint.

"Greetings, Tigerclaw," she meowed coolly. "Why are you here? The Gathering is a place for warriors only, or have you forgotten that?"

"Not at all, Bluestar," Tigerstar replied smoothly. "I have been chosen by StarClan to help ShadowClan recover from its sickness and restore the Clan to its former glory. They have granted me nine lives, and I stand before you today as their new leader."

"And we're supposed to believe that, are we?" Crookedstar broke in roughly. "You betrayed your Clan. You tried to murder your leader, and probably several other cats as well. How do you expect us to believe that StarClan would choose you to become ShadowClan's new leader?"

"I understand your wariness," the dark tabby meowed. "But I can assure you that everything I say is the full truth and nothing less."

"You've lied before. You can lie again," Tallstar meowed flatly.

Instead of responding directly, Tigerstar turned to face the warriors in the clearing below him. Fireheart waited for him to speak, wondering what the treacherous warrior was planning now. For a moment, he thought that the dark tabby was looking at him, but he quickly brushed the thought off. Now wasn't the time to start getting paranoid.

"Cats of all Clans," Tigerstar rumbled. "Let me say that I understand your unhappiness at seeing me here today. I admit that my choices in the past were ill-advised and borne of greed and self-centeredness. However, that is not the cat I am today. Thanks to my time in exile, I can safely say that I've seen the light. Therefore, I hope that this will not only be a new beginning for me but a new beginning for all of us. I will trust my ancestors in StarClan to guide my path as a leader, and I will work to restore harmony within the Clans so that you may consider ShadowClan your allies in times of peace."

Fireheart could tell that Tigerstar's speech hadn't impressed the other leaders one bit, but at the moment, they didn't have much choice other than to take him at his word. He glanced around the clearing, wondering if anyone had been moved by the ShadowClan leader's words. Most of the warriors were still muttering unhappily amongst themselves, but there were a few suspicious expressions here and there.

Bluestar stepped away from Tigerstar and turned to speak to the throng of warriors below her, meowing, "ThunderClan brings good news and bad news today. As most of you will have no doubt heard, a fire burned through our territory. RiverClan offered us shelter, and we thank them for their generosity. Unfortunately, we lost Patchpelt, One-eye, and Smallear, and Yellowfang could not attend today's meeting, as she chose to remain behind to care for any sick or injured warriors. However, we are rebuilding our camp and we are still as strong as ever."

"I have no doubt of it," Tigerstar meowed calmly.

"On a happier note," the blue-gray molly continued, ignoring her former deputy. "We have recently appointed two new apprentices and four new warriors. Fernpaw and Ashpaw have begun their training and are being mentored by Dustpelt and Mousefur. And Swiftpaw, Brightpaw, Thornpaw, and Brackenpaw have completed their training and stand before you today as Swiftrunner, Brightheart, Thornclaw, and Brackenfur."

A chorus of yowls rose up from the crowd as cats from all Clans began chanting the six ThunderClan cats' names. Out of the corner of his eye, Fireheart saw Swiftrunner and Brightheart with their heads raised proudly. He turned his attention back to the Great Rock as Bluestar stepped back to allow Tallstar to come forward.

"The prey is running well in WindClan," the black and white WindClan leader meowed smoothly. "We found a fox on our territory a few days ago, but Onewhisker and Mudclaw helped drive it off. It crossed the border towards Highstones and we have not seen it since, but our patrols are continuing to keep an eye out in case it decides to return."

The rest of the Gathering passed without any particularly interesting news from any of the other Clans. At the end of the meeting, Bluestar leaped down from the Great Rock and padded in the direction of the ThunderClan camp, signaling with her tail for her warriors to follow her. Fireheart bounded over to catch up with his mother, falling into step with her as they headed through the forest.

"Can you believe that?" he hissed, keeping his voice low as to avoid being overheard. "Tigerstar, the new leader of ShadowClan! Imagine that."

"I know. I don't like it myself, but it doesn't look as though we have any other choice than to accept it," Bluestar meowed grimly. "He might have been lying about receiving nine lives–and it wouldn't surprise me if he was–but unfortunately, we have no way of proving that."

"Why would ShadowClan accept him as their new leader in the first place?" Fireheart asked, shaking his head. "They know what he did as well as any other Clan. Surely they wouldn't want Tigerstar as their new leader–especially after everything that happened with Brokentail."

"I don't know, Fireheart. We can only hope that they didn't have much choice in the matter," his mother replied with a sigh. "Perhaps this will be a good thing for ThunderClan. Tigerstar will have his paws full trying to rebuild ShadowClan, so he won't have much time to bother us just yet. We'll have to take advantage of what time we have and work to bring our own Clan back to strength as well."

Fireheart wanted to share her optimism, but he just couldn't bring himself to do so. There were many things he could say about Tigerstar, most of them rather unflattering, but one thing he could not do was fault his ability to multitask. He wouldn't have found it surprising if Tigerstar managed to restore his new Clan while secretly formulating a plot to destroy his old one.

Maybe he won't care anymore, he thought hopefully. Now that he has what he wants, maybe he won't be interested in coming after ThunderClan.

But he couldn't make himself believe that either. Tigerstar had never been one to let go of a grudge, and now that he supposedly had the power of StarClan behind him, he had no reason not to attack his former Clan. All he would need to do was spread a small lie to his Clanmates, possibly about ThunderClan stealing prey, order an attack, and that would be the end of that. The best part that could be said about any of this was that at least now, they knew where Tigerstar was and could keep an eye on him.

However, as past events had proven, just because they could keep an eye on him didn't necessarily mean they were prepared for whatever he might have in store for them.